Package pump unit



Dec. 18, 1956 K R. LUNG 2,774,469

PACKAGE PUMP UNIT Filed Aug. 23, 1954 FIG-2 39 FIG-1 13 FM 15 3a FIG-4 12 INVENTOR. 33 53 33- 55 KENNETH R.LUNG

ATTOR N EYS United States Patent PACKAGE PUMP UNIT Kenneth R. Lung, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The Tait Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Ohio Application August 23, 1954, Serial No. 451,342

4 Claims. (Cl. 206-46) 7 This invention relates to pumps, and more particularly to packaging pumps for shipment and storage.

The invention has Special relation to the packaging of a pump unit which includes a tank and wherein the pump or the pump and drive motor therefor are both mounted directly on the tank to form a single unit. A convenient arrangement for such units is to utilize a cylindrical tank supported in horizontal position and to mount the pump and motor directly on the upper surface of the tank. The resulting unit, however, is quite unsymmetrical, since the pump and motor are considerably shorter and narrower than the tank, and it is therefore somewhat dificult to package the unit satisfactorily for shipment and storage.

If the unit as a whole is crated, it will receive adequate protection against breakage or other direct damage under normal conditions, but it is still subject to settling of dirt and dust which may necessitate servicing at the time of installation and which in any case tends to mar the appearance of the unit. It is also apparent that unless the crate is specially designed and fabricated to fit the particular shape of the unit, which would be unde- Sirably expensive, it will ordinarily be unnecessarily large and will contain a corresponding amount of waste space as a result of its symmetrical configuration in contrast with the unsymmetrical shape of its contents. The same objection applies to a carton constructed to cover the entire unit, in addition to the fact that spacer or stiffening members are likely to be required to keep the unit in place within the carton.

It is a primary object of the present invention to overcome the above difficulties and disadvantages of other packaging techniques for such pump-tank units by providing a simple and lightweight package construction which offers primary protection to the pump and motor on the tank while leaving portions of the tank exposed, and which at the same time will make it possible to stack the package units right side up or on their sides, or to tip the unit entirely upside down, while maintaining adequate protection for the pump and motor.

It is therefore another object of the invention to provide a package construction for a pump-tank unit which will give adequate protection to the pump and motor with minimum waste space in the package and hence with minimum use of packing materials and with resulting reduced overall cost of packaging.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packaging technique for a pump-tank unit in which the tank is first mounted on and secured to a base of wood or the like with the pump and motor uppermost, in which the pump and motor and a portion of the tank below the pump and motor are then covered by a bottomless carton having cutouts in the ends thereof to fit over the tank with the end portions of the tank projecting therethrough, and in which the carton is finally directly secured to the base to complete the package and also to fix the position of the contents with respect to the carton without requiring the use of spacers or stiifening members.

'ice

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a pump-motor-tank unit of the type to which the present invention relates and with the tank mounted on the wooden base which forms a part of the finished package;

Fig. 2 shows the completed package after the carton has been fitted over the tank and secured to the base;

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the blank from which the carton of Fig. 2 is formed; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing how a plurality of the packaged units of Fig. 2 can be stacked on each other for storage.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 shows a typical pump-tank unit in which the pump 10 and motor 11 are mounted as a sub-assembly on the upper surface of a cylindrical tank 12 arranged horizontally and provided with mounting feet 13 welded or otherwise secured to the under side of the tank. In preparing such a tank unit for shipment or storage in accordance with the invention, the unit is then secured to a suitable rigid base such as the wooden base 15 in Fig. 1, with the feet 13 being directly secured to the base by screws or bolts 16. The base 15 need not be greater in size than is sufi'icient to receive the legs 13, and both ends of the tank 12 accordingly overhang and project beyond the base by a considerable distance as shown in Fig. l.

The unit is then fitted with a bottomless carton proportioned to enclose only the pump and motor and the adjacent central portion of the pump 12, thus leaving the overhanging ends of the tank projecting thereform. Referring to Fig. 2, the carton 20 is formed from a blank comprising panels 21 and 22 defining the sides of the carton, panels 23 and 24 defining the ends of the carton, a side flap 25 and flaps 26 and 29 of the usual type which cooperate to close the top of the finished carton. There are no bottom flaps, however, and in addition each of the end panels 21 and 22 is provided with a cutout 30 for receiving the ends of the tank 12 and the base 15. Each cutout 30 accordingly has a semi-circular upper end 31, and its lower ends are stepped at 32 and 33 to fit over the base 15 and feet 13 respectively.

After the carton blank has been assembled by connecting the side flap 25 to the side panel 21 by the usual means such as stitches or staples 35 and/or stay tape 36 the carton is fitted down over the pump and tank unit with the ends of the tank being received through the cutouts 30. The carton is preferably of such height that in this position, its lowermost edge will overlap the sides of the base 15, and it is then directly secured to the base as by additional staples or nails 37. Reinforcement for the entire assembly can then be added in the form of steel strips 38 encircling both the carton and the base and having the ends thereof secured together as indicated at 39. Hand holes 40 are also shown as provided in the end walls of the carton to facilitate handling of the finished package unit.

Fig. 2 shows the resulting completed package unit, and it will be apparent that while the package does not enclose the entire tank, it does adequately cover the parts such as the pump and motor which might be damaged or marred as the result of exposure in a crate or the like. The package construction is also of adequate strength to resist crushing, and it is entirely practical to stack a multiplicity of these units on top of each other as indicated in Fig. 4 without likelihood of damage as to any of the packages or their contents. This package construction therefore greatly facilitates storage of the packaged units in quantity, and they could also be packaged on their sides rather than in upright position if so desired.

garages 3 t In addition to the simplicity of this packaging technique, it offers substantial advantages of economy in bothrlabor and materials. Since the carton and base cover only the cylindrical center portion of the unit, there is a'rninimu'rncf waste'spabein thepackage, and also the amount of material needed for the "carton is only anaetion of the amount which would-be required' to enclose the entire unit including both ends of the tankj Furthermore, since the carton and base form min le unit which is rigidly secured to the tank itself at '16, no stuffing or spacing materials are required, and even if the package is tipped entirely upside down, the contents still remain in place mane adequately protected In addition, the labor of packaging isdeduced to ,a minimum, and also it is not necessary to lift or otherwise fit the heavy and bulky tank unit into th e carton, since the carton is simply fitted over itscontents from above, With resulting saving in both time and physical effort.

While the article and method herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise article and method, and that changes may be made therein 7 without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims. What is claimed is:

1. A package construction for a pump unit including a pump and motor mounted on the upper surface of a tank of substantially greater lateral dimensions than said pump and motor, comprising a base, means for securing said tank to said base 'with said pump and motor uppermost, a carton of sufiiciently greater width than said tank to receive said tank therein and of sufiicient height to extend from said base to the top of said pump and motor, said carton being of sufiicient length to receive said pump and motor therein but of substantially less length than said tank, said carton having cutouts in both of the end walls thereof for receiving the ends of said tank therein to provide for insertion of said tank in said carton with the ends thereof projecting outwardly of said carton through said cutouts, and means for securing the bottom of said carton to said base to complete said package.

2. A package construction for a pump unit including a pump and motor mounted on the side of a cylindrical tank of substantially greater length than said pump and motor, comprising a base, means for securing said tank tosaid base with said tank extending horizontally and with said pump and motor uppermost thereon, a bottomless carton of substantially the same height as the distance from said base to the top of said pump and motor, said carton being of such width as to enclose said tank and of substantially lesser length than said tank to enclose said pump and motor with the ends of said tank projecting therebeyond, said carton having cutouts at the bottom of both end walls thereof for receiving the ends of said tank therethrough, said cutouts being curved along their upper edges to engage the upper side of said tank.

and being open at the bottom edge of said bottom Walls for direct fitting over said tank from and above, and means for securing the bottom edges of said carton to said base to complete said package.

3. A pump and pack-age assembly comprising a cylindrical tank, a pump a'iid motor of substantially less length than said tank mounted 9n the side of said tank, a base, rneans for securing said tank to said base with said tank extending lioriZonta-llyiand said' pump and inotor uppermost theren,*a eaaon of substantially the same height a th d stance tro a d base to theop p said pump and motor, saidcarton beinglof such width as to enclose said tank and of substantially lesser length than said tank to enclose said pump and motor with the ends of said tank projecting therebeyond, said carton having cutouts in both end walls thereof for receiving the ends of said tank 'therethrough, and means for securingthe bottom edges 'ofs aidcarton tol s'aid base to complete said p g t. A,

"4. A package construction for a pump unit including a pump and motormenmed on the side of a cylindrical tank of substantially g i ator length than said pump and motor, comprising 'a base, me ns for securing said tank to said base with said tank ekten ding horizontally and with said pumpandinotor uppermost thereon, said base being of substantially the same width as said tank and of substantiallylesser length than said tank to cause the ends of said tank to overhang and project beyond the ends or said 'base, a bottomless car-ton of substantially the 7 same height as the distance from said base to the top of said pump and motor, said carton being of substantially the same width as' said' tank and length as said pump and motor to enclose said pump and motor and the central portion of said tank with said overhanging ends of aid tank projecting therebeyond, said carton having cutouts at the'bottom of bothend walls thereof for receiving said tanktherethrough, said cutouts being curved along their upper edges tongage the upper side of said tank and'bein'g -open at the bottom edge of said bottom walls for direct fitting' ove'r' said tank and said 'base from abovefand mean's for securing the bottom edges of said carton to said recompretesaia package. t

References in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS w l' 'he zbi i eb- 2 1953 

